Rusty has a scrapbook entitled “Vietnam and Other Tales.” He got the scrapbooking gene from his mom, and there are some doozies between them!
He was about 22 in this photo. He was going to be drafted and enlisted instead. On his way to the infantry, he raised his hand when someone asked if anyone could type… and so he was spared the infantry and became a company clerk! I always think of him as my Radar O’Reilly. He later directed an arts & crafts program. It was on leave when he first visited Australia, and 50+ years later he’s returned… he is so enjoying it, too!
My sis & Addie queried me last night about what my dad did in the war. He was in the Air Force, and was a mechanic (“oh yeah,” she said). And then I did a quick search for the only photo I have…
Not in the greatest shape. So then this morning…
…I spent a little time fixing it. Not as much as I could have! The mouth isn’t quite right but it was nearly obliterated and there were no teeth to work with, so to speak, so I’m okay with it.
Happy Veterans Day, Rusty! RIP, Dad.
Discover more from knitorious
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Thank you to them for their service.
My dad was Army during WWII. He spent 18 months in Germany, mostly after VE Day repatriating people from concentration camps at the French border.
Thanking your Dad and Rusty. My Dad didn’t fight, but he was pulled out of grad school to go work at Oak Ridge…and then he married my Mom and she joined him there working as well! They always worked separate shifts from each other and were not allowed to talk to each other about what they did. I can’t even imagine!
I’m grateful to Rusty and your dad for serving, and to your family for supporting them during and after. and I think you did a fine job with that photo of your dad. My grandfather served as a medic in WWII, and my dad was in the Corps of Engineers during the early 1960’s, and thankfully never went to Vietnam.
Thanks to your Dad and Rusty, and thank you for sharing photos. Somehow my father ended up in Alaska when he was in the Army. I never got a straight answer when I asked him what he did there. He did shoot a polar bear, but I don’t imagine that he was protecting anyone from predatory Alaskan animals.